-Throughout the regular season, the Twin Valley Wildcats established themselves as one of the top teams in Division IV boys’ basketball.
With the one-two scoring punch of Brayden and Landon Brown and a strong supporting cast, the Wildcats had seven wins when they scored more than 90 points, including three 100-plus point games.
They earned the No. 5 seed in the Division IV tournament and kept their regular season momentum rolling by winning their first two playoff games to advance to the Final Four at the Barre Auditorium.
At press time, Twin Valley faced top-seeded Twinfield in a semifinal at the Aud on March 9. Twinfield won the game, 77-57. We’ll have a full report on that game in next week’s edition of The Commons.
In their first-round game on March 4 in Whitingham, the Wildcats blasted the No. 12 Poultney Blue Devils, 95-35. Junior Brayden Brown was the high scorer with 33 points, plus seven rebounds and nine assists. His younger brother, Landon Brown, had 21 points, 10 rebounds, seven assists, and six steals. Junior Niko Gerding finished with 17 points and senior Steve Oyer added nine points. Eric Kendall led the Devils with 13 points.
Twin Valley took control early with a 27-3 run to take a 36-6 lead by the end of the first quarter. The lead was 54-11 by halftime, and the Wildcats played their reserves for most of the second half.
It was the second time this season that the Wildcats had scored more than 90 points against Poultney. During a Dec. 13 game, Twin Valley thumped the Devils, 110-32, to set a new school record for most points scored in a boys’ game.
The Wildcats’ quarterfinal game in Rutland on March 6 against the No. 4 Mount St. Joseph Mounties was more competitive, but Twin Valley came away with a 77-62 victory. Brayden Brown led the Wildcats with 27 points, including a 19-for-21 performance at the free throw line. Landon Brown followed with 20 points, and Gerding and Brian Sullivan added 12 and nine points, respectively.
Twin Valley led 36-14 at the half. The Mounties put up a good fight in the second half, as Gavin Treanor led MSJ with a game-high 28 points; 24 of them coming in the third and fourth quarters.
Boys’ basketball
• Both Brattleboro and Bellows Falls had quick exits from their respective first-round tournament games on March 4.
In Division I, No. 9 Brattleboro lost to No. 8 Mount Mansfield, 71-50, in Jericho. The Bears ended their season with an 8-13 record and will lose only two players, Alasdair Jenks and Matthew Worden, to graduation.
In Division III, No. 12 Bellows Falls lost on the road to No. 5 Vergennes, 76-55. The 8-12 Terriers will lose several player to graduations — Coby Leveque, Dean Ryea, Reed Hill, Brayden Wyman, Declan Lisai, and Camden Perry.
Ice hockey
• Both Brattleboro teams were eliminated on the road in the first round of their respective tournaments in Division II.
The ninth-seeded Brattleboro girls lost at No. 8 Stowe, 9-1, on March 3. The Bears finished with a 0-18-1 record, including a 3-3 tie against Burr & Burton at home on Feb. 9.
The 12th-seeded Brattleboro boys lost to No. 5 Middlebury, 8-1, on March 4. They ended a difficult season at 2-18-1.
Public hearing on deer and moose management set for March 16 at BUHS
• The Vermont Fish & Wildlife Department and the Vermont Fish & Wildlife Board will hold a public hearing on deer and moose management for 2026 on Monday, March 16, at 6 p.m. at Brattleboro Union High School.
This hearing, one of three scheduled around the state this month, will include results of Vermont’s 2025 deer seasons and prospects for deer hunting next fall as well as an opportunity for people to provide their observations and opinions about the current status of the deer herd. The hearing will also include a review of the 2025 moose hunting seasons and an opportunity for the public to provide feedback on the number of moose permits recommended for 2026.
Pre-recorded videos of the moose and deer presentations that will be given at these meetings will be available by going to the “Public Hearings Schedule” at vtfishandwildlife.com. The Fish & Wildlife Department’s 2026 Moose Season Recommendation is also available on that page.
In addition to the public hearings, anyone can leave a comment on the proposals by emailing ANR.FWPublicComment@vermont.gov. Comments on moose must be received by March 31 and for deer by May 12.
Volunteer at a state park this summer
How would you like to spend a season at a state park and get a free full hookup campsite for your RV in exchange for volunteer hours? It can happen through the Vermont State Parks Volunteer Program.
This program was started to expand work experiences available in state parks and to strengthen the range of services the parks provide to visitors. Volunteering may include visitor registration, fee collection, customer service, leading nature programs, cleaning restrooms, cleaning campsites, lawn mowing, landscaping and beautification, park cleanup at opening or closing, or staffing special events.
Volunteers work 30 hours per week and receive free use of a campsite with hookups (most have water, electric, and sewer), propane refills, free admission to State Parks, and discounted or free admission to many Vermont tourist attractions. Volunteers provide their own self-contained camping equipment.
Campground volunteers are provided with identification and staff uniforms. Duties and schedules vary and are set by the Park Ranger at a specific park depending on the needs of the park, staff, and volunteers. Generally, volunteers work between 3 and 5 days per week and receive consecutive days off.
Campground volunteer slots are available locally from May through October at Fort Dummer State Park in Brattleboro, Jamaica State Park, and Molly Stark State Park in Wilmington. Camping volunteers are asked to commit to a minimum six-week stay. They welcome people of all interests and abilities to fill roles in all areas of their operation. If you’re interested, visit vtstateparks.com/volunteering.
A reminder to remove ice shanties
• Vermont state law requires that ice fishing shanties be removed from the ice before the ice weakens according the Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department. The shanty must be removed before the ice becomes unsafe or loses its ability to support the shanty out of the water, or before the last Sunday in March — the 29th this year — whichever comes first.
All contents, debris, wood, and supports must also be removed so they do not become a hazard to navigation in the spring. Leaving your ice fishing shanty on the ice can result in a fine and points on your license, and shanties may not be left at state fishing access areas.
Sign-ups begin for Rec. Dept. summer programs
• The Brattleboro Recreation & Parks Department says that registration for summer camps and programs will begin both online and in person on Monday, March 16. Individuals can register online at vtbrattleboroweb.myvscloud.com/webtrac/web or in person Monday–Friday, 9 a.m. to noon and 1 to 4:30 p.m. at the Gibson-Aiken Center.
For all programs, events, facility information, and more, visit their website at brattleboro.gov. Once you are on this page hover over the Departments tab on the blue horizontal bar. A new drop-down menu will appear and click Recreation and Parks. If there are special needs required for these programs, let them know at least five days in advance. For more information, call the Gibson-Aiken office at 802-254-5808.
The Caldwell legacy
• When talking about Nordic skiing in the U.S., the Caldwell family has had a big role in shaping the sport. At the head of the family tree is John Caldwell, who died Feb. 28 at age 97. His full obituary can be found page B4 in this week’s edition.
The longtime Putney resident skied in the 1952 Olympics, and coached the U.S. cross-country Olympic teams in 1960, 1964, 1968, 1972, and 1984. He also coached at The Putney School from the mid-1950s until his 1989 retirement. He is considered one of the seminal figures in the growth of Nordic skiing in the U.S. in the second half of the 20th century.
One of his sons, Tim Caldwell, competed in four Olympics, finishing sixth at the 1976 Winter Games, and John’s best known protege, Bill Koch, became the first American to win an Olympic medal in Nordic skiing in the 1976 games. Another son, Sverre, set up the SMS Nordic program, which he coached for three decades until his retirement. His daughter Jennifer, who died in 2011, won the American Birkebeiner, the largest cross-country skiing race in North America.
Sverre was one of the founders of the Stratton Mountain School (SMS) T2 Nordic training team with help from Koch. Jesse Diggins and Landgrove’s Ben Ogden were both medalists at this year’s winter games, a testimony to the strength of SMS’s training program. Sverre’s daughter, Sophie, became the third Caldwell to ski in the Olympics in 2014.
John Caldwell has left us, but his contributions to Nordic skiing live on.
John’s star pupil, Bill Koch, helped Ogden become only the second U.S. male to win an Olympic medal in Nordic skiing. And John’s children and grandchildren and nieces and nephews have built upon his considerable legacy, both as competitors and coaches, ensuring that the tradition of Caldwells leading the way in Nordic skiing will continue for years to come.
Randolph T. Holhut , deputy editor of this newspaper, has written this column since 2010 and has covered sports in Windham County since the 1980s. Readers can send him sports information at news@commonsnews.org.
This Sports column by Randolph T. Holhut was written for The Commons.